Luckiest numbers ahead of $80m Powerball

AUSTRALIAN lottery history could be made if a winner claims tonight's Powerball jackpot.

Soaring to a staggering $80 million following seven weeks of jackpotting, the second largest sum in the game's 23-year history has sent Aussies into a ticket-snagging frenzy ahead of the impending draw.

With up to one in three Australians tipped to buy tickets to be in the running to snare the millions that are up for grabs, the Lott has revealed the winning entry types that scored Powerball division one prizes in 2018.

Last year saw 14 division one winning entries take home $344 million in Powerball prize.

Of these entries, almost two-thirds were quick-pick entires, and almost one-in-four of the winning entries were PowerHIT entries.

While it stresses that the Powerball is a "random game of chance" and "every number has an equal chance of being drawn", the Lott has still provided the goods by unveiling the game's most frequently drawn numbers of the past couple of months.

For the main barrel, where seven winning numbers are drawn from 34, the 'hot' number is 32, having been drawn a total of 13 times. The second 'hot' number is 29, which was drawn 12 times.

For the 'Cold' winning numbers, 1, 10, 11, 12, 21 and 27 made the most appearances, each being drawn four times.

'Hot' Powerball numbers include 3, 13 and 19, again each drawn four times, and the 'Cold' 1, 2, 4 and 18 for the 'Cold', which weren't drawn at all.

With January's reputation for big Powerball jackpot wins, the Lott spokesman Matt Hart has no doubt history will be made tonight.

"Can you imagine how you life might change in 2019 if your bank account ballooned by an $80 million Powerball price?" Mr Hart said.

"With a multimillion-dollar Powerball prize of this scale, it's fair to say you could well and truly play by your own rules."

But as the jackpot nears record-breaking levels, a new law change means it will be harder for Aussies to win big in the future.

Australians can no longer place bets on the outcome of the lottery and keno draws, effectively signalling the end for the lottery betting industry.

The Lottery Office is now the only operator in Australia that complies with the new laws to allow Australians to legally win from draws including the US Mega Millions, US Powerball and EuroMillions.